About Us

Welcome to Little Acorn Early Learning Centre

Our goal is to provide developmentally appropriate and experiential programs for all children, while incorporating the principles of the Reggio Approach to Early Childhood Education.

We look forward to your partnership as we provide the best education and care for your children through best practice.

Little Acorn Early Learning Centre realizes the importance of good strong roots for tomorrow’s future.

Philosophy

Our goal is to provide developmentally appropriate and experiential programs for children who are Toddler and Preschool age. We endeavour to achieve this by promoting the highest quality professionalism, consistency and a respectful school environment with dedicated staff that are qualified and truly care.

We believe that learning is an active process of self-construction which occurs as we; children, parents, educators and friends, go about our everyday routines and special times in the company of others. Educators treat and listen to children as individuals; competent, resourceful, curious, imaginative, and inventive, each desiring to communicate with each other and their environment. We believe that all learning is intertwined; physical, intellectual, emotional, social, moral, aesthetic, and creative. Schools, homes and the community are all social learning environments and need to have strong partnerships to enhance the child’s learning.

We are your partners. We each, children and adults, bring our own unique personal history. We, as educators, need to listen to, in the deepest sense, to the children’s and parent’s personal stories (perspectives), in order to make our curriculum and everyday classroom experiences meaningful. Our environment will be organized to offer rich learning opportunities connected to those experiences.

Children are invited to explore and problem solve, individually and in groups, to be involved in small and large projects, to learn and to respect their world as well as themselves and others. We are cognoscente of our responsibility to prepare children for a more formal school setting and will offer experiences that will meet that need as well. We believe that it is important for Educators of young children to continue their growth and will provide and support professional development as well as encourage independent study. This will ensure that staff are ready for the challenges of providing the most up-to-date programming and best practice for children’s optimum growth and development. We recognize the value of strong partnerships with families and the community in the education of young children and will promote opportunities for this growth.

We look forward to the opportunity of providing a place for future educators from local colleges and high schools to train and practice. Finally, we embrace the important responsibility given to us by parents, to care and love their children, to provide safe and beautiful environments for the children to learn, grow and play in, and to be your partners in this important time of their lives.

History

Just getting started…..

Meet Our Team

Joanne Saunders

Executive Director

My name is Miss Joanne (Joanne Saunders), Certified Early Childhood Educator and I have been in child care since 1978. I am a retired foster parent of 20 years and have adopted 3 children as well as having 3 biological children. My training has been in many different philosophies including The Reggio Philosophy of Early Education from Italy. I have been on the Board of Directors for The Association of Early Childhood Education for 10 years in which I have been President, have taught Early Childhood Education in the Continuing Education at Algonquin College, have advocated for services for families at many different venues and remain committed to serving children and families in whatever way I can.

Many Smiles,
Miss Joanne

Ernest Blais

Ernest Blais taught elementary school after receiving a degree in Education. He left teaching to study painting, and, by happy chance, was offered a job near the university at a childcare centre where he discovered a work environment that he loved. In Edmonton he later worked in a francophone preschool and at the college demonstration childcare centre.
Through his work at the college, Ernest and a team of Early Childhood Professionals visited Reggio Emilia in Italy to learn about the city’s model for Early Childhood Education; his special interest was the atelier (art studio) and the role of the atelierista (the visual arts educator).
In Ottawa Ernest worked at Andrew Fleck’s George Street Centre and at Good Morning Creative Arts and Preschool in the Glebe. He is very pleased to be part of Little Acorn Early Learning Centre community.
Ernest grew up in northern Ontario, lived in Alberta, and now resides in Aylmer, Quebec. He and his wife have three children.
Mr. Ernest

Danielle Creamer

Hello! My name is Danielle; I am a bilingual registered early childhood educator. I studied Éducation en Services à l’enfance at La Cité collégiale and graduated with honors in 2011. I
am very excited to join the Little Acorn team in the toddler room. Since entering the field, I have worked with infants, toddlers, preschoolers andschool aged children. I got into childcare because having the chance to contribute to and observe a child’s development is something I find extremely rewarding. I look forward to working with and alongside your child watching them learn and grow.

Miss Danielle

Haruna Harris

Haruna was born in Japan, but spent her childhood in Singapore. After moving back to Japan and completing University, she obtained her ECE and Kindergarden teachers license. She has 5 years of work experience at a Japanese daycare centre, and in 2007 she had a volunteer opportunity where she was able to experience the Canadian ECE style. She loved it here so much that she made it her goal to eventually move and become an ECE in Canada.
After a few years of hard work, she graduated with honors from the Basic ECE, and Infant Toddler programs at MTI Community College in Vancouver. These programs focused on the Reggio Emilia style, which Haruna instantly fell in love with.
After working at a few daycares in Vancouver she moved to Ottawa in the summer of 2013 with her husband. She spent some time working at a daycare in west Ottawa before being hired at Little Acorn. She is very happy to be working in a Reggio Emilia centre again, and is looking forward to building a caring, open, and expressive environment for children.
Miss Haruna

Miss Lisa Poushinsky

Piano Teacher

Miss Lisa grew up in the Ottawa area where she attended an arts high school. She has taught private art, piano, and guitar lessons to students ages 5 and up for the past 20 years and is now a certified Kindermusic teacher, teaching piano lessons to three to five year olds at the Acorn Early Learning Centre in Ottawa and rhythm and movement classes in Kemptville / Ottawa.

Miss Lisa performs regularly and tours Canada as singer/songwriter ‘L. Poushinsky’. She is currently soprano for Ottawa’s Southminster Chamber Music Choir, director of Sainte Marguerite Bourgeoy’s children’s choir in Merrickville, Merrickville Studio 106’s music camp director, and leader of the a cappella singing group Bella Borealis.

Music lessons with Miss Lisa combine proper technique with classical to contemporary approaches to reading, writing, theory, rhythm, and performance, and are tailored specifically to meet the student’s interests and needs.

Our Key Values which include “Loving and Safe Environment”, “Quality Early Childhood Programming” and “Leadership in Early Childhood Education and Care” cannot be achieved without trained, committed professionals in Early Childhood with enhanced trained in the Reggio Philosophy. Introducing the team so far…..

Although we are not able to introduce you to our teaching team at this time, we can introduce you to the team that is preparing Little Acorn for its opening. It is not to say that we don’t have a great working team working together to bring this centre to its opening date.

All of the staff of Acorn Early Learning Centre supports the opening of Little Acorn in partnership with…

Plenary Group

WZMH Architects

Ministry of Education (licencing)

Department of Health

Douglas Crump Electrical

Chris Busby Construction

This list will be updated regularly

Secutiry

Little Acorn Early Learning Centre (LAELC) takes the safety of your child most seriously. A security system will be in place allowing only those with a passkey into the Learning Centre. Otherwise, a staff will have to allow your entrance. In case of emergency, it is very important that the emergency number/email address will be the fastest way to contact you.

Open Door Policy

Little Acorn respects and understands that the most important relationship is between a parent and their child. We know how difficult it can be to leave your child in the care of others. It is important that you also have a relationship with the Educators at Little Acorn and encourage you to spend as much time as possible in the centre. We would love you to visit throughout the day, eat lunch with your child or visit during the morning program.